Wing for flying machines



. I 1,619,373 March 1927' A. ROHRBACH WING FOR FLYING MACHINES Filed March 20, 1924 Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES ADOLF ROHRBACH, OF CHARLOTTENBURG, GERMANY.

WING FOR FLYING MACHINES.

Application filed March 20, 1924, Serial No. 700,620, and in Germany April 9, 1923.

Metal skins, used for the coverings of wings, etc.,- of flying machines, have until now not served the purpose of stiffening the frames, bulkheads, and formers. Consequently, these members had always to be provided with such girders or profiles, that they alone could take the whole stress, thereby causing, of course, an increase of weight.

This invention described herein, 'eliminates this shortcoming by making the skin serve at the same time as part of the girders. This is effected in the following way: Each single plate is riveted on top of the next one, in such manner that they overlap each other over a frame, bulkhead or former respectively. A double layer of plates has so been gained, excellently capable of substituting or reinforcing, the girders.

A reproduction of the invention is given, by way of example, on the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 shows in side elevation a frame of the wing,

Fig. 2 is a section of a modified construction on line 1I--II of the wings,

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a still further modified construction of a wing, on a reduced scale, and Fig. 4 is a side view of a wing of a construction corresponding to Fig. 2.

The frame, bulkhead, former, or the like, may have a U, L, I-section, or any other one instead. One part of the aircraft, the wing, for instance, has been provided with such frames, spaced at certain intervals. The width of those plates to be used for the skin, e uals the distance between the outer edges 0 two frames, the plates being so piled up that their edges overlap each other, so that the edge of plate 3 is put under that of plate 4, the other edge of plate 4 under that of the following edge 5.,and so forth. The re inforced part is their rigidly connected with the frames, bulkheads, formers andthe like, for instance, by means of rivets.

The stressed skin including the plates 3, 4, 5, etc. assists the skeleton frame in carrying the loads and stresses and the frame may therefore be of a comparatively light construction, but particularly on account of the overlapping 0 these plates along the form or bulkhead members and their rigid attachment thereto along the reinforcing overlapping edges they are capable of reinforcing and functioning therewith to carry the stresses with the consequentelevation of the factor of safety or the substantial diminution of the weight of the bulkheads for the same factor of safety, as compared with prior wing structures wherein the total load and stresses throughout the wing must be carried by the skeleton frame substantially alone and wherein there is no direct rein forcement of the bulkhead by overlapping of the flat stressed plates along' the edges thereof.

This wing structure has the additional advantage of simplicity in construction with the attendant economy in manufacture. In the construction according to Fig. 1 the bulkhead or form members 1 are formed of upper and lower rib members 6, 6 respectively joined by the diagonals 7 which in turn are rigidly connected with the longitudinal spars 8 and 9. This construction of Fig. 1 is particularly adaptable to use in large machines. In the modification of Fig.

2, the members'l are indicated as of inte-' gral construction and formed of web-like angle plates with upper and lower flanges firmly riveted to the overlapping edges of the adjacent stress members 3 and 4. This construction is particularly adapted to use in machines of heavy stresses. In the modification of Fig. 3 the bulkhead or form members 1 are indicated as being formed of integral web-like metallic sections which are cut away, as indicated at 10. This. construction is particularly suitable for small machines with small stress.

I claim:

1. A metal wing for flying machines consisting of an internal skeleton frame structure formed of interconnected transverse frame members and continuous uninterrupted longitudinal girders, said longitudinal girders and transverse members having coplanar bearing and supporting surfaces and a flat outer metallic skin lying flat against said girders and transverse frame members, said outer skin being divided longitudinally of the wing into sections which are flat throu hout their entire areas which are rigidly an directly secured to both the girders and the transverse frame members with each pair of adjacent sections overlappin each other along a transverse frame mem er in the plane of the outer skin and firmly secured to each other and to the transverse member along the coplanar overlapping part whereby the fiat outer skin forms a reinforcing andstrengthening supplemental frame for transmitting all the loads and the stresses and the transverse double layers of metal along said transverse members form reinforcing means for the transverse members.

2. A metal wing for flying machines consistin of an internal skeleton frame structure formed of interconnected transverse and longitudinal frame members and a flat outer metallic skin rigidly and directly secured to both the transverse and longitudinal frame members to form both a covering for and stress carrying part of the'wing structure, said outer skin consisting of individual plates which are flat throughout their entire areas and are arranged with their edges overlapping each other along the transverse members to form in the plane of the outer skin double layers of reinforcing metal along the transverse members, said plates being rigidly secured to each otherand to and against the transverse members at points throughout the lengths of the double layers.

3. A metal wing for flying machines consisting of an internal skeleton frame structure formed of inter-connected transverse and longitudinal frame members having their outer surfaces flush with each other and a. flat outer metallic skin rigidly and direct ly secured to both the transverse and longitudinal frame members to form both a covering for and stress carrying part of the wing structure, said" outer skin consisting of individual plates which are flat throughout their entire areas and are arranged with their edges overlapping each other along the transverse members to form, in the plane of the outer skin, double layers of metal along the transverse members, said plates being rigidly secured to each other and to and against the transverse members at points throughout the lengths of the double layers.

4. Metal wing comprising longitudinal girders extending throughout the length of the wing, transverse members arranged transversely thereof and interconnected therewith to form a skeleton internal frame, the transverse members and longitudinal girders being provided with coplanar transverse binding plates or flanges lying in a plane parallel to the outer skin, and an outer skin which, for the purpose of transmitting all forces present in the wing, is fiat through its entire area and is rigidly and closely connected with both the transverse binding plates or flanges of the correspondingly lighter-weight transverse members and of the likewise lighter-weight web-girders and consists of individual plates, each two adjoining plates being joined on the transverse binding of a transverse member by two flat overlapping parts fastened flat against each other and to the binding at intervals {)l'iroughout the length of the transverse mem- 5. A wing of the character set forth in claim 2 wherein each section of the flat outer covering plate has a width approximating the distance between the outer edges of two adjacent transverse frame members.

6. A wing fortaircraft according to claim 2 wherein the longitudinal girders consist of two web-girders interconnected with the transverse frame members to form the internal skeleton frame with which the flat outer skin is correlated in the manner stated.

7. A metal wing for aircraft according to claim 2 wherein the transverse frame membcrs consist of transverse binding plates and rross-pieces.

8. In a metallic wing for flying machines a light skeleton frame unit which is insufficient of itself alone to carry the stresses with the required factor of safety, including interconnected transverse bulkhead or form members and longitudinal girders, and a reinforcing skin therefor formed of a series of flat metallic plates firmlybound about the skeleton frame with their adjacent edges overlapping along the upper and lower surface edges of the bulkheads with their overlapping parts lying in the plane of the flat plates and firmly secured thereto along the reinforcing overlapping edges.

9. A wing structure of the character set forth in claim 8 wherein each of the reinforcing metallic plates is of a width equal to the distance between the outer edges of two adjacent bulkheads bridged by it whereby the edges of each overlapping plate come flush with the outer edges of the bulkheads and the double layer of overlapping metal of the plates is in a position to reinforce the bulkheads.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

DR. ADOLF ROHRBACH. 

